16 - Culturtainment

‘Entertainment that involves the demonstration, celebration or commemoration of the values, traditions or beliefs of a societal group’ (Moss, 2009, p.294).

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10th September, 2016

BBC News

Spain bullfighting: thousands rally in Madrid to demand ban

Whilst the popularity of bullfighting in Spain is dwindling, 2,000 bullfights still take place there annually. This article highlights a demonstration against this, which took place in September 2016, and the growing discontent of the tradition amongst particularly Spain's young people.

Video and news story about the tradition of an Easter firework battle on the Greek island of Chios. The battle is thought to date back to the times that the island was occupied by Turkey, who banned Christian religious services, so the firework battle was staged as a distraction so that Easter Mass could be held in the churches.

News story / case study about plans in Bulgaria to capitalise on the regions links with gothic and horror cultural fiction through the creation of a series of vampire themed attractions to create a tourist trail.

News story about moves by Spanish Members of Parliament, to vote in favour of giving bullfighting a special cultural status and overturning bans on bullfighting that have taken place in the Spansih Canary Islands and Catalonia.

Discussion article around the rise in popularity of Halloween in the UK, with the influence of the popularity of Halloween in the USA one possible reason behind this. At the same time the traditional UK Bonfire Night is seemingly in decline as both occasions fall within a week of each other and for some, economics make it a choice of one or the other.

News video about Goth tourists and tourists coming to see Goths in the UK seaside town of Whitby, which has historic associations with Dracula. The video highlights that Goth tourists are with £30-£40 each per day to the Whitby economy, and as many as 5,000 Goths visit for the annual Goth festival.

Discussion feature around cultural gastronomy exploring the rising popularity of foods from Norway, Sweden and Denmark in the UK, attributed partly to exposure to Swedish foods through film and television.

Often housed in beautifully grand and ornate buildings, coffee houses are so much a part of the fabric of the Austrian capital that Unesco recently included them on their list of intangible cultural heritage - describing them as places "where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is found on the bill."

News story about the decision by authorities in Maastricht, Holland, to ban non Dutch visitors from coffee shops in a bid to stem drug-related crime. The ban does not include German and Belgian tourists, and has been criticised as being in contravention of EU law.

News story about the first bullfighting ban to come into effect in mainland Spain. This is as a result of increased awareness of animal rights, and as a result of Catalonia making an independent political decision from the rest of Spain.

Feature about the growing passion for re-enactments involving knights in armour in Poland. This romantic cultural spectacle provides escapsim for participants, and brings in tourists who pay to witness it.

News article detailing a traditional English event held annually in Gloucestershire - cheese rolling, this was banned due to health and safety concerns, however a number of participants and a great many more spectators still turned up to take part and witness it.

This news article demonstrates how a new cultural event can be born. Latvia has been badly hit be recession. Its economy shrank by 18% in 2009 and it has Europe's highest unemployment. Last year to try and cheer up Latvians a group of blonde woman paraded through the city centre as a one-off spectacle, this year the parade has returned by popular demand, only it has grown into a two day festival.

News article: From infectious Afro-fusion rhythms to plays dealing with political violence, the Harare International Festival aims to showcase the best of Zimbabwean arts – but organising it was far from easy

A news article about Burmese women: It is hard not to stare. At the end of a dirt track, deep in the Thai jungle, a group of women sit in the shade, fingering the coils of brass which snake tightly around their unnaturally long, giraffe-like necks.